Roommate from Hell
by Sister'sLament
Summary: Eric Cartman and Kyle Brovfloski have just graduated from Highschool and get accepted into two different colleges. They're parents are so proud and they relish the rest of their summer before they pack up and make their way for their town house. There's just one problem... They're roommates. Watch the heat and drama unfold between these two. (Kyman/ Cartman x Kyle)
1. Chapter 1

Cartman groaned as he set down his last box of belongings into the small living room in an apartment, a bead of sweat rolling down his back. His back hurt from carrying all of those boxes up the stairs and the door, but he didn't dare complain. As he pushed the large cardboard box into its place against the wall, he looked up through the window to see his mother waving at him, smiling happily, but sadly. He hesitated a moment, before he decided to wave back with a little smile.

Upon seeing him wave back, she became even more enthusiastic before she turned and headed for her car slowly. Cartman watched her go, his hand that had been in the air coming to rest on the sill of the window. As she pulled out of the parking space, he let it sink in that he was gone, out of that house with her, out of his group of friends that he used to hang out with, and most importantly, out of South Park.

The thoughts made him nervous, but also extremely happy. This was it. He was going to college, getting a side degree and a major degree- both in different passions of his. He was going to make it somewhere, he was going to make sure of it. His college was only a few blocks down from this apartment, which had been why he picked it. It was also roughly fifteen minutes away walking from a University. He wasn't sure why the two different post-secondary schools were so close to each other, but he was sure it had something to do with the University's dropout rate, or maybe their 'plans' to attract students to them. Either way, it made finding an apartment hard if you weren't living on campus. He'd been lucky enough to snag one with his mother's help… but there was just one little problem.

Cartman frowned at the window as another car pulled up, recognizing it instantly to be that of the Brovfloski's. He'd recognize the tacky vehicle anywhere. That was right, Cartman had to room with none other than Kyle.

He hated it, hated it so bad that he had almost decided that it wasn't worth going to the college that he had wanted to go to, but his determination had ended up making him stubborn. It had just happened to work out this way. It was an ideal apartment for both of the buildings, and neither boy could afford an apartment on their own… so it made more sense to room together.

Once Kyle stepped out of his father's car he looked up at the window of the apartment he was going to be living in while attending his university with an odd look on his face. Today was the day he started his new life away from home and on his own. He was so nervous and excited that he wasn't sure what to do with himself. "Oh I'm so proud of you Kyle!" Sheila said in an excited manner as she got out of the car as well and it caused Kyle to smile as well.

Both of Kyle's parents were proud of him, he knew that, and in a way he was proud of himself as well. It wasn't as though he was the first person in his family to go to college, but he had managed to graduate with the grades he had wanted and had gotten into the college of his choice. Now the only thing he had left to do was do well in his new classes and he would be set, but first he was going to have to survive his roommate.

Green eyes caught sight of Eric Cartmen as they scanned over the apartments windows again. He had grown up around Cartmen and he had hardly been able to stand him at times, but now he was going to have to live with him and he wasn't sure what was going to happen. His mother had tried to talk him out of it, had tried to find him another place to stay, but after everything was done they had found that rooming with Cartmen was the better option. Kyle had stressed about it for a month now, worrying about how he was going to get along with his friend and tormentor, but he wasn't worried now. Kyle had decided that as long as he could avoid any prolonged time with Cartmen he would be fine.

"I'll help you carry your boxes up." Gerald said as he opened the trunk of the car, snapping Kyle out of his train of thought. "Yeah thanks." Kyle said with a smile as he walked over. He almost wanted to prolong the unloading of the car because as soon as they were finished his parents would be driving back to South Park and leaving him here all alone. The prospect was almost scary, but Kyle was sure that he would adjust to it in time.

Kyle watched his parents drive away with an odd look on his face. He knew they wouldn't be too far away but it was still further than he was used to. With a sigh he went to turn around and start unpacking when he heard one of the doors in the apartment open. "Decide to show yourself Cartmen?" Kyle said, not being overly mean or anything, but simply trying to make conversation. For right now, Eric Cartmen was the only person he knew here, so he might as well try to be nice. Well more agreeable than nice.

Cartman had been waiting in the room that he had claimed for himself while he heard Kyle and his parents shuffle around, talk, and lay down boxes in the living room like Cartman had done. Normally, he would find it a challenge that the other's parents were here. He'd lean his head out the door to make Mrs. Brovfloski uncomfortable and purposely try and make them fret, but something had held him back a little.

He wasn't sure why exactly, but when he first heard them coming up the stairs, he had felt a little strange and ended up wandering away into a room with a box, moving his own things around while he tried to distract himself. Of course, he had finished unpacking the box rather fast since it hadn't been all that big, and ended up waiting until the he was certain that his parents had left.

He creaked open the door and hesitated a moment before he began to walk out. Before he even made it to the same room as Kyle, he halted when he heard him call out to him. He wasn't exactly sure how to take what the other said, wanting to take offense to it since it made him sound like he'd been hiding, but he decided to just ignore it, slowly continuing to walk and standing in the door way, folding his arms over his chest as he looked at the other.

It was worse than he thought.

This entire day he had been fretting over the fact that the other would be arriving, but he'd had no idea how it would be just seeing him. Seeing the Brovfloski and knowing that he was trapped with him for the longest amount of time made him feel as though he'd been beaten, and he could already feel how exhausting things were going to be, and he'd only just laid eyes on him.

Cartman raised up his camera and took a random picture of Kyle standing there, not even really taking the time to actually aim it right before glancing down at it, frowning to himself at the image that stared at him back.

"You're uglier in pictures."

Kyle gave Cartmen a flat look after he snapped the picture. It was pathetic, but that was the nicest greeting he had ever received from him. "Then why take a picture at all fat ass." He said, a little irritated but not angry like he would have usually gotten. As much as he liked getting into fights with Cartmen, he didn't want to start one on his first day here. Kyle shook his head before he turned to grab one of his boxes. He'd start by taking care of his things that wouldn't be going into his room so he could avoid his roommate later and just stay in his room to finish unpacking.

"So, what are you going to school for?" Kyle asked, making a last attempt to be nice as he took a box into their kitchen. His mother had packed him a bunch of food and cooking tools so he wanted to get that put away first since some of it needed put into the fridge. Normally he wouldn't have asked Cartmen a question like that, but he hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him before they both moved. In fact, after they had graduated they had both avoided each other for the most part.

Cartman continued to look at the picture before he turned his camera off, setting it on the little table lining the wall that his mother had brought up for both him and Kyle to use. He turned to open up one of his own boxes, trying to figure out exactly where he wanted everything before he finally began to pull things out of it.

"What's it to you?" He asked evasively, turning so that he could set down a few things into the room again. He raised his voice. "I don't want you stalking me to my classes." He snorted to him.

"Like I would Cartmen." Kyle responded as he opened the fridge and set the couple bags that belonged there inside it. "And I was just curious, you don't have to get all snippy about it." He said as he closed the fridge and moved onto the cupboards. He should have expected to receive a sarcastic remark from Cartmen. Kyle never got a straight answer out of him so he had no idea why he even bothered to ask him anything or why he continued to.

"Besides, aren't we going to separate schools? That should at least ease your conscience about my supposed stalking problem." Kyle said, being a bit sarcastic back. It was hard not to fall into his old habits with Cartmen.

Cartman shrugged to himself as he came back out to open another box, rummaging through it in the living room. "It wouldn't surprise me if you still found a way to. I'm just being cautious." He said dryly, glancing up at the other since he could faintly see him around the corner in the kitchen. "I know that you're going for law though, at that University." He said as he pulled out a couple of knock knacks that had decided to bring. He glanced over them thoughtfully before putting them back and looking for a more useful box to put away.

"You're mom practically told the entire town." He recalled it with a little scowl. The woman had been treating it as though she was the one who got into the school, flaunting it to every person who would listen. Cartman had overheard her even boasting to _his_ mom about all of his hard work and how it'd pay off and how unbelievably proud she was of him. She had kept saying that she always knew that he would do well and that she couldn't have been more proud of her son. It'd made Cartman sick. ..Even now, just thinking about it made him a little angry. He decided to try and focus on things to move around in the living room since he was already there.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Kyle said with a little bit of embarrassment as he remembered exactly what Cartmen had been talking about. His mother could definitely be too much sometimes and she had proven that point yet again when he had gotten accepted into his university. Kyle had been so embarrassed as he watched her go around and brag to anyone who would listen. He had tried asking her politely to stop but she had just smiled and said that she was just so proud of him and that she wanted everyone to know. Kyle had stopped trying to get her to stop after he finally got her to agree not to brag to his friends parents since not only was he catching hell from other students but even Stan. At least Stan had been playful about it all.

Remembering Stan made Kyle frown. He was really going to miss his best friend. Stan had gotten into college too, but he was half way across the state from him now, so the only time he was going to get to see him would be on holidays or summer break. Not getting to see Stan was probably going to be the hardest part about moving for him.

"Are you going to miss South Park at all?" Kyle asked Cartmen after they had been silent for nearly a half an hour. He had been walking through the living room on his way to the bathroom when he stopped to ask his roommate. The realization had just hit him that he wasn't really going to miss his hometown, just the people in it that had made it home to him and he was wondering if that was normal. Sure, Cartmen wasn't the best person to ask and try to judge the normalcy of his own answer off of his, but it was all Kyle had.

Cartman nearly snorted at the question as he was already on his last box. Did he miss South Park? What kind of question was that? "Of course I'm not going to." He said in a matter of fact tone, though he paused in the middle of rummaging to actually think about it. Naturally, Cartman hated South Park, he hated everyone in it. He wasn't in the least bit interested in going back. Even though he had hung out with the group a lot, he really didn't think it was going to bother him that he wasn't going to see Stan and Kenny for a long while. In fact, he would prefer that he not see Kyle too, but sometimes fate just decided to work like this. …He supposed that he would miss his mom, but he didn't really want to admit that out loud. He had been weary moving here and away from her, he'd never gone without her. For the longest time, she'd been all that he'd had, and he wasn't keen on being alone. …Sure, he'd been lonely before, but he'd never been all on his own before, and this time his mother wouldn't be there for him.

Cartman hardly realized that he was zoning out until he realized that Kyle was still looking at him in the living room. He blinked out of it and continued rummaging, his eyes not raising. "I hate that fucking place, and everyone in it. It'll be hard to drag me back there."

Honestly, Kyle should have been expecting that answer from Cartmen. He knew that he hated all the people in South Park, so he naturally would hate the town as well. Maybe that was what Kyle had needed to hear though. Maybe he had asked Cartmen because he knew he would say that and it would make him feel better about not missing his home town. "Do you have anywhere you want to move to?" he asked, not realizing that he was trying to have a conversation with Cartmen.

Cartman paused again when Kyle asked him yet another question, finding it awkward. He'd never actually held a civil conversation with the other, and it was beginning to weird him out how he kept asking him his opinions and questions. His dark chocolate eyes slid over to him and gave him an odd look. He noticed the box that was still in Kyle's hands and noticed how he was looking at him curiously. It made him feel all sorts of strange and weird. He covered it with a flat glare.

"Just unpack your shit so we can establish house rules." He said dryly, cutting their conversation short a little rudely as he turned his attention back to his last box.

When Cartmen cut him off it snapped Kyle out of his unease. He gave his roommate a flat look before he left the room and went about unpacking the last of his stuff. He should have known better than to try and talk to Cartmen anyway, nothing good ever came off it. Kyle should just stick to his original plan and avoid him to the best of his abilities. It would be hard at first, but once they both started their classes he was sure that they would hardly ever see each other. Maybe he could even forget that he had a roommate if he didn't see him enough.


	2. Chapter 2

Once they were both finished packing, both of them sat in the living room and stared awkwardly at each other. Kyle just couldn't shake the feeling of how weird this all was. He honestly just wanted to go to bed so he could get up early and finish packing and then take a walk down to the university so he could find out where he needed to go before his classes started. However, both him and Cartmen really needed to establish some house rules. "So, did you want to start or can I?" he asked a little curtly, still a bit irritated from earlier.

This was just too weird. He still couldn't believe that this was happening, that he was going to have to _willingly_ live the person he'd sworn most of his life to hating. Kyle was the embodiment of just about everything that he hated in a person, and he was too stubborn to actually deal with in any other trait that Kyle had, because he was stubborn too. They clashed and butted heads way too often, and although Cartman had loved arguing with Kyle in the past, he had a feeling that it was going to get exhausting after a while. Tensions would rise, and they'd be lucky if they didn't kill each other. Cartman had no respect for human life, and Kyle was a Jersey ginger so it was likely that he would lose his sanity and snap on him too.

Cartman stared directly into the other's green eyes and folded his arms, his eyes staring intensely at him. "I can." He replied back in the same dry manner that he had given him. "First of all, I don't want you touching my shit. I forgot my sanitizer, and I can't have you contaminating all of it." He said, holding up a finger. "Second, you have no business on my side of the room, and you can't be in it at any times if I'm changing. I don't want your fag eyes staring at me." He said, his face serious. "And third, we buy our own shit. I won't touch yours, you won't touch mine. Even when it comes to shampoo and shower things."

"That's more than fine." Kyle said, completely understanding the first rules that Cartmen put down because if he hadn't mentioned them then he would have. He didn't even care that he had just been called a fag. If anything, he was used to the insults that poured from Cartmens mouth on a daily basis, especially with him.

"Onto other things, company." Kyle said even though he doubted that Cartmen would ever bring anyone over to their apartment. It wasn't meant to be insulting, just a fact. Eric Cartmen hardly ever associated with anyone unless he had to. "You need advance notice before bringing someone back here, whether that be a project partner, friend or girlfriend. I don't want to come back here to company when I'm not expecting it and I'm sure you'd like the same. Family not included." Kyle finished as he stared over at his roommate.

Cartman let out a snort at the thought. "No, family _included._" Cartman said firmly. "The last thing I want to see coming back from class is your bitch of a mom on the couch with you. I don't think you'd want me there, either. So it's best if we just tell each other about _everyone_." Cartman paused a moment. "Even your little boyfriend Stan if he gets the time." Cartman doubted that Stan would be able to, but he still wanted to put it out there. "Deal?"

Kyle frowned when Cartmen called his mother a bitch and it deepened when he called Stan his boyfriend, but he decided to just let it go. "I can't always know when my mother is going to stop in to see me Cartmen but I'll let you know if I know." He said. He could always tell his mother to tell him when she was going to stop by and use the excuse that he was busy with his classes. It still wouldn't guarantee that he'd always know when she was coming though. "But deal." He said with a small sigh as he tried to think of anything other rules that he wanted to set down.

Cartman gave a nod when Kyle said that he would try, letting out a sigh and finally carrying his gaze away from the other. He didn't like looking at Kyle for too long, it always made him uncomfortable, even back when he was younger. The other was just as observant and keen as he was, and he didn't like it. At first, it had thrilled him that he finally had a worthy rival, someone who could quip back and was amusing enough when mad that it made it worthwhile… but in tense situations it made him uncomfortable. Cartman shrugged his shoulders and set them again, lifting his head a little higher as he tried not to think about it, or anything else that may come to bother him.

"We done here yet? I have to go get my own groceries." He asked quietly, though his voice was still very crude and anything but welcoming.

**Sorry for the short chapter, next one will be longer, I promise! **-Midnightnoo


	3. Chapter 3

Kyle opened the door to his apartment and sighed tiredly as he kicked off his shoes. He didn't have very far to walk, but sometimes after a long day of classes he was exhausted, and today he had gone to a court house which had meant more walking for him. He walked straight past the kitchen, deciding that he was more tired than hungry and went to walk through the living room before he stopped. The couch looked a lot more inviting than it usually did today, so instead of going to his bed he found himself collapsing on the soft piece of furniture with a small grunt.

His everything was tired, his body and his head. Classes were a lot harder than he had thought they'd be at this point. He was only two months into classes and they were continually getting harder. It was his own fault for choosing this major though, and it wasn't like he couldn't do the work. Kyle was certainly smart enough to learn everything and get all of his assignments done, but it was exhausting most of the time. It was also a bit lonely. He had to put a lot of time and effort into everything he did now and it left little room for anything else. Kyle didn't have time to hang out with anyone and he barely got to call Stan or Kenny to chat. Also, he hardly saw Cartmen enough to remember that he was his roommate.

At first Kyle had been glad that he didn't have to look at Cartmen all the time or listen to his constant foul remarks, but that happiness soon faded away to something else. Hell it had been almost a week since he had seen Cartmen at all. Kyle came back to the apartment while Cartmen was in class and got up to leave before he even woke up in the morning. It was so strange knowing that he lived with someone but he hardly ever got to see them. It was almost like living on his own and it was starting to freak Kyle out a little bit.

Normally Kyle could deal with being alone very well, but he was starting to crave some sort of interaction with someone other than his classmates. He wanted someone to talk to so he didn't feel so alone. He wouldn't even need to talk to Cartmen if he'd just see him awake and about every so often. It was entirely frustrating and somewhat depressing. Kyle didn't have much time to dwell on it though because he soon drifted off to sleep.

~~:

Cartman glanced through his pictures with a scowl, flicking through the mediocre pictures that he'd managed to take. It wasn't the camera, it was a beautiful camera that his class had provided him with, it was the style. None of the pictures called out to him, and he couldn't find a single one that he was willing to send in to the teacher. None of them showed any sort of passion, and none of them reflected anything. They just looked like random pictures, and made Cartman a little irritated.

"Eric, have you picked one yet?" The woman asked with a sigh, leaning over her desk to get a look at the screen that the other boy was flipping through. Cartman only frowned deeper as he flicked through a few others. They all sucked in his opinion, not a single one was good enough.

"How about that tree one?"

"Look at that blur, I should have set it up better. The Depth of Field is atrocious."

"How about the bird?"

"It's just a bird. It doesn't seem to say anything."

The woman sighed, seeming to be tired. She was grateful that she had a student so into what he was doing, especially since it wasn't a girl, but this was beginning to get ridiculous.

Cartman continued to flip through the images on the little screen, getting earlier and earlier back until he froze, a random picture of someone there. It had been done hurriedly, and the camera wasn't exactly centered. In fact, it was tilted. The person in the picture looked surprised and a little irritated, obviously taken off guard by the picture. Cartman had almost forgotten that he'd taken this picture the first day he'd moved in. …It was Kyle.

He hardly realized that he was staring expressionless at the picture until the teacher leaned over again, looking at the picture curiously. "Who's this?"

Cartman blinked and took out the SD card in the back, handing the chip to her. She looked surprised and curiously at him as he refused to answer her at first. She looked down at the little card. "…What made you choose this one?" She seemed curious, and Cartman couldn't blame her. He was really picky, and out of all the pictures this one seemed the most random.

"It was sudden and unexpected. It gives the exact sort of feel to the person looking at him, but yet it's casual." Cartman thought back to it. "It has the most in it."

The woman nodded slightly, though she still seemed confused.

~~:

Cartman walked back from his class after having turned in his card, having been given a new blank one by the teacher to work on his next project. He rounded the corner towards the apartment and thought back to class. He wasn't sure why he'd been quite so struck by the picture of Kyle, it had just happened. All of the other pictures were boring, and they were staged and picked for what features it had… so the cannon picture of the other was really the best pick… but that wasn't what had struck him. He supposed it was the look that the other had on his face in the photo, or more his eyes. Cartman hadn't looked Kyle in the face for almost two months now, let alone at all. It had been strange to suddenly seem face to face with him, even though it was just a picture.

He tried not to think about it as he opened the door and stepped in, back extremely early since his other professor had decided to give the day off. Not for the students, but for himself. He had vaguely said that he'd been having troubles because his wife was in and out of the hospital, and today he wanted to be there for her. So, he let the class go today. He even told them that he wasn't going to count their homework, which was more than fine with Cartman. He had to focus on his photography to make it better.

He carried his gaze around the living room, looking a little surprised when he noticed that Kyle's shoes were at the door. He looked up and towards the door that led to their room. Cartman was usually never back at this time, so he didn't know if it was that Kyle just normally had a break here or if this was when his classes ended since Cartman usually didn't come home until later. However, whenever he came back he would always avoid Kyle and go straight to his bed.

He kicked off his shoes and shrugged off his jacket, trying not to feel as curious as he felt. He wanted to go into the kitchen and make something, but the thought that Kyle was home with him was too weird. He hesitated at the door, staring in the direction of their room before he finally lost and wandered over, resting his hand on the door knob. He was about to turn, when he was hit with another wave of hesitation, this one mingled with irritation.

What was he doing? Cartman removed his hand slowly from the door, smiling awkwardly to himself. Who cared if he was home..? He didn't care, it wasn't as if he wanted to see him. That was just… strange. The picture must have just gotten to him. He turned and walked calmly back into the kitchen, pretending that he wasn't embarrassed that he'd almost gone _looking_ for Kyle.

Kyle looked up from his law book when he heard the sound of the door opening. Cartmen was back already? That was certainly strange, but not entirely unwelcome. He looked at the door to their room with tired eyes when he heard footsteps approach, but frowned when he heard him head towards the kitchen instead. Cartmen had probably found out that he was home and had decided to avoid him yet again. He couldn't really blame him since they had been avoiding each other for almost another month now, but Kyle was highly tempted to head out into the kitchen himself. He bit his lip nervously as he debated on what he should do. The chances were that if he went out and tried to talk to Cartmen he'd only get a smart ass or mean response, but at least he would have gotten to talk to him right? That decided it.

Kyle got up from his desk and exited the room. He didn't have to walk right up to Cartmen and try talking to him, instead he was going to pretend that he was getting something to eat, or maybe something to drink from the fridge even though food didn't interest him as much anymore. When he entered the kitchen he was very careful not to look at Cartmen, not wanting to be accused of staring and went straight for the fridge, deciding to grab some leftovers from yesterday. He frowned when he grabbed them however, deciding that the spaghetti didn't sound all that appetizing anymore.

"Do you want this?" he asked off handedly as he held the carton off to the side to draw Cartmens attention to it without having to look at him. "I made it yesterday but I'm not going to eat it." He said as he grabbed the container of juice out of the fridge, but waited on Cartmens answer before closing it.

Cartman had been in the middle of deciding if he wanted to cook something or find something quick and easy when he heard the bedroom door open. For a moment, he felt a prick of a feeling close to panic, but more anticipation as he heard the steps come closer to the kitchen. Cartman felt his hand twitch before he went back searching through the cupboards, calming himself. What the Hell was he getting so worked up for, it was just Kyle.

When Kyle offered him something, Cartman almost hesitated to look, it taking him a moment to finally throw a glance over at the container that Kyle was holding out for him to view. He stared at it intensely, trying to think of how to respond. "…No, it's yours." He said at first, staring a moment longer before he turned and grabbed something easy. "You probably poisoned it, and if you didn't, then it has your germs because you made it. We aren't to touch anything from each other, remember?" He said, though picking on Kyle made him smirk a little. As much as he wasn't going to admit it, talking to him felt really good. He hadn't talked to anyone other than the teacher since classes had started.

Kyle snorted before he could help himself. "Cause I'd take the time out of my busy schedule to poison you." He said, finding the thought almost humorous before he put it back into the fridge and reached up to grab a glass so he could pour himself something to drink. "My germs are too good for you anyway." He said with a small smirk to himself as he poured the juice into the cup. It was strange how arguing with Cartmen felt nice after not getting to talk to him for a while. Still, as nice as it was, he didn't want to push his luck and he put the juice away so he could leave the kitchen and go back to his studying.

Cartman let out a harsh sound of amusement. "Full of yourself?" He asked, opening the box and pouring it into a pan on the stove. He finally allowed himself to glance up to see Kyle, only to see him put away the drink and begin to head out of the kitchen. Cartman watched him for a long moment looking a little uncertain. He wasn't sure what was coming over him, but he didn't like it. Seeing the other boy begin to turn and walk away set off something in him, and it felt horrible.

Maybe it was because he hadn't talked to anyone other than his teacher. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to being completely on his own yet. Maybe it was because he was having troubles getting used to living here. Maybe he missed his mom and was sick of being left alone…. Or maybe it was all of it together. Whatever it was, the quick two second conversation between the two boys in the kitchen had helped distract him from it. Now that he was walking away from him, he could feel it slowly starting to settle back, and that thought alone was encouragement enough for him to call out.

"Kyle."

Kyle paused, a little shocked when Cartmen had called out to him. He turned around and looked at Cartmen in a slightly confused manner. He wanted to ask him what it was that he wanted, but nothing came out of his mouth, instead he was left staring awkwardly at him. What was he supposed to say? Kyle was sure that he could have just responded with a simple 'what?' but now it was too late, and the awkward silence had set in.

Cartman found himself staring at Kyle, mentally cursing himself for having called out. What the hell did he expect with any of this? He couldn't just come out and say 'talk to me'. Now his mind was reeling, trying to come up with, something, anything to say that wouldn't also constitute in Kyle walking away still. He shifted a little uncomfortably and tore his gaze away again, looking down to the side.

"…Photography…" He said after a moment. When Kyle remained silent, he looked up and back away again when he looked confused. He grunted awkwardly. "…You asked me before what my major was… I'm in photography." It was all he could really think to say, continuing a conversation he'd managed to kill back on the first day.

Kyle continued to look confused for a few more seconds until he finally realized what Cartmen had said. Had it really taken him almost three months to answer that question? A small smile formed on Kyles face. Right now he didn't even care that he had answered the question horribly late, he was just happy to get to talk to him. "You always did like photography, how are things going?" he asked, deciding to leave out the small taunt that he wanted to use from back when they were children. He didn't think it would be smart to bring up the whole Butters incident right now.

Cartman was relieved when Kyle didn't just shrug the conversation off. He normally didn't talk to the other, and he'd been extremely rude when Kyle had been trying to talk to him in the beginning. He had almost thought that Kyle would just say okay and turn around. He was really glad that he didn't.

"Shitty. I can't seem to get anything that matches. It's either a good picture that looks fake or a cannon meaningful picture that looks like shit." He grumbled, he looked back up at Kyle who was still standing there, looking at him. He felt himself feel a little embarrassed by the odd little smile that was on his face as they talked. "…You've been really busy, right?" Cartman asked, taking the time to look at Kyle since he hadn't in a long while. "How's law coming?"

"It's coming? I'm not sure how to describe it other than it's hell." Kyle said with a small odd chuckle. "Sometimes I don't know if I'm going to survive the next assignment, but I always make it in the end." He said with the same smile on his face. "That sucks though that you can't get a good picture." He said. He knew that Cartmen was overly picky when it came to his photography but he had faith that he would be able to find something interesting to photograph.

Cartman nodded to him, understanding. Kyle was always burying himself if his work and assignments, he wasn't surprised that going into something this big for a degree was finally too much for him to chew. He gave Kyle a little awkward smile. He wasn't sure what to say after that, but he felt much better after that. They both seemed to nod at one another, as if signifying that they both understood that there wasn't much else to say and went back to what they were doing.


	4. Chapter 4

Cartman flicked through his pictures again while he lounged on the couch beside Kyle, grunting his disapproval of some of them. A couple more weeks had passed since they'd finally broken their silence, and very slowly, they had begun to talk a little more to each other. Most of the time it was in quick intervals, and it wasn't anything much. Actually, almost all of their snippets were completely pointless and unrelated to anything. Still, Cartman found that he enjoyed them… and by the way that Kyle tolerated them, he had a feeling that he might too. He started going through pictures that he'd snuck of Kyle while he was out and about, smiling at one that he saw before flicking past it.

"My teacher recently has been on my ass about turning in another picture. She said it has to resemble some problem we find in our society, but I can't think of anything." He grunted out, displeased as he put the camera away. He held up his head by putting his cheek into his hand. "I don't know if I can find anything good enough that speaks for itself."

Kyle thought about it for a few minutes before he shrugged. "I'm not sure either. I'm really bad with photography. My first thought was the homeless." He said with a sigh, feeling useless for thinking of something so stupid. His whole brain hurt after his midterms, and it was starting to effect his everyday life. It was also the reason behind his little outing he was going to take tonight. Some of his acquaintances in class had talked him into going out with them to celebrate their mini break and making it through midterms. Now he was stuck with going to a party and while he had been to plenty of parties before, he had always known people there. This was going to be a whole new experience for him.

"Anyway, I need to get going. I'd rather go to this stupid party early so I can leave early without attracting too much attention." Kyle said with a sigh as he got up from the couch. He was already dressed for it, all he needed to do was throw his shoes on and leave. "I'll be back, don't lock me out. I don't want to take my keys just to lose them." He said before he got ready to leave.

Kyle had never been so drunk in his life before, well no that might be a lie because he felt even drunker at the moment than he had earlier and he had a feeling that it was a pretty hard accomplishment. He was lucky he had even managed to find his way home on his own. He would have asked to walk with someone but he had needed to get out of there. It wasn't like anyone was going to judge him for what happened, but he still didn't want to hang around.

The party had started off like most did, but instead of just getting buzzed, Kyle had been roped into a drinking game and had gotten pretty fucked up. Still, everyone had been laughing and having a good time and it all had influenced Kyle, causing him to loosen up even more. He had started talking to a bunch of different people and they had all been pretty awesome, but there had been this one guy. He had reminded him of someone but right now he couldn't remember who that someone had been. Still that guy had been pretty cool. He had ended up talking to him the whole party practically but somewhere between the beer pong and screaming match between two hammered girls, the guy he had been talking to had started to look pretty damn sexy.

Kyle normally didn't think about other people like, but there had just been something about him…and before he knew it he had ended up making out with him. Instead of being freaked out like he should have been, he had lingered, enjoying the whole thing. When he realized that he had like it was when he pulled away though and high tailed it out of there. Well, he more stumbled out the door with a few other people who were drunk as fuck.

Now he was heading up to apartment completely confused. He felt like he should be disgusted with himself but he wasn't and that was making him upset. Kyle shouldn't have enjoyed making out with that guy that much, even if he was drunk. Oh god, what if he was gay? No, he couldn't be could he? Then that would make Cartmen right and he didn't want him to be right. That bastard was always right whenever they argued…but wasn't that just proof enough that he was gay? No, he needed to stop, he just needed….he needed…sleep? Maybe a shower? He wasn't even sure anymore, but first he needed to puke. He let himself into the apartment and headed towards the bathroom, hoping he'd make it and not hit his head off the toilet.

Cartman had been doing virtually nothing but sit around the house, leafing through different things and trying to occupy himself after Kyle had left. He'd spent a lot of time thinking about what he could do for his next project, but when that failed he decided to focus on his politics class. He studied from his book for the test that he knew would be coming after midterms and wrote down half an essay, which served to kill a lot of time, but not enough.

He kept finding himself glancing up at the clock, or down at his watch as the time passed by. It had seemed like Kyle had been gone for a while, and though Cartman knew that he would probably be out longer it still made him frown a little. As much as he hated to admit it, Cartman had come to really really like Kyle's company up in the apartment. Normally, when left alone, Cartman could easily amuse himself. His world had always centered around himself, so he always told himself that he didn't need anybody, that he never would. This, of course, was changing. He'd never admit it to himself, but he'd become rather dependent on the ginger haired boy. He was always looking forward to get to talk to him now, even if brief. So when they had this short midterm break and he found out that Kyle was deciding just to stay as well, it had excited him a little that he would have a couple of days with him instead of brief moments. …But of course, first day and he goes out and parties.

Cartman sighed and pushed his essay away from himself after an hour of trying to focus on it, holding his head in his hand and trying to ease a headache that he'd given himself. What the Hell was wrong with him? ..He'd never been this way, and he'd never allowed anyone to get to him like this. He didn't understand why things seemed to be changing now. Kyle had always been the exception to the personal rules he'd made for himself, but this was ridiculous.

He looked up suddenly when he heard someone fumble with the door, blinking wearily before he took a quick look at the clock. It was practically midnight. …Cartman must have fallen asleep. Groggily, he got up and made his way over to the door. He looked confused, since it was unlocked before opened it for him.

"Hey…why'd you lock the door?" Kyle said as soon at Cartmen opened the door and he saw him. He didn't understand it but for some reason the door just wouldn't open. When Cartmen told him that he hadn't locked the door Kyle's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked, sounding completely shocked. "Then…we really need a new door knob…handle thingy, ours is completely fucked." Kyle said as he entered the apartment before he was overcome with the urge to throw up again, only this time it was a lot stronger.

"Shit…" he swore before he headed straight to the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet before he puked up everything he had drank and eaten that afternoon. Once his stomach was empty and rested his head against the coolness of the toilet seat, not even caring about how unsanitary it was to do so. It just felt so nice. "Dude…Cartmen I think I'm fucked up…" he said, not even knowing if he was close enough to hear him.

Cartman gave Kyle a bit of an agitated look when he went on slurring about their door, his bulk arms coming to cross over his chest as he watched Kyle manage to stumble in. He'd never seen Kyle get like this, and although part of him found it amusing, he also found a part of it troubling. It made him frown at how idiotic the other was being. He gave the other a cross look.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing Kyle? You can barely stand, look at you!" Cartman said a little snippily, but it didn't take him long to notice that Kyle wasn't paying attention. He watched the other sway and bring a hand to his mouth.

"Kyle?"

He heard the other curse, looking a little pale as he hurried to the bathroom. Cartman watched him, his brows furrowing a little in concern as he slowly followed after him. He could hear him heaving into their toilet before he even got there, making him frown further. When he finally made it, he could see the other gripping the edges of the bowl, leaning over it and puking at least three or four times until his stomach was empty. He watched Kyle gingerly lay his head on the seat, his eyes closed.

Cartman let out a sigh that edged irritated and tired. "You think? God damn it Jew…" He said, shaking his head. That was the understatement of the year. Kyle was beyond fucked up. He'd never seen him get like this before, hell, he'd hardly ever even seen him drink at all. He never would have thought that Kyle would drink, since personally he thought he was way too much of a pussy for that sort of thing. He wasn't prepared for this. He looked at Kyle with a little frown creasing his face. He couldn't just let Kyle lay here like this.

"Come on, get up." He said quietly, his large hands coming to rest on Kyle's lithe sides and trying to pick him up. Kyle was unsteady, so he had to help support his weight quite a bit before he finally managed to get to his feet. Cartman took a long look at his face before looking over his body with a frown.

"…Jesus Christ… Come on, take off your shit." He said. Normally, he would never put himself in this sort of situation, but he didn't trust Kyle enough to be on his own. He was pissed enough that he walked back on his own and didn't at least have someone to look after him. It was truly a miracle that he didn't get run over by a car if he couldn't even fumble with the door lock. "You need to get in the shower, okay? Kyle, look at me. Take, a, shower." He frowned. "You listening?"

Kyle looked at Cartmen, his eyes unfocused as he tried to remember what he told him to do. He knew he had said something about his shirt…and…and…oh shower, he wanted him to take a shower. It didn't sound like the best idea to him. In fact all he wanted to do was lay down and pass out on the bathroom floor. "I am looking at you…" Kyle said, trying to be defiant a little but he found himself distracted by the way Cartmens face looked. He suddenly remembered who the guy earlier had reminded him of…he had reminded him of Cartmen. Kyle wasn't sure why either, but he was finding himself inclined to kiss another guy tonight, but it was the fact that it was Cartmen that kept him from it. Maybe he did need a shower…something to clear his head.

"Just out…out okay, I will." Kyle mumbled as he pulled away from Cartmen with a flush of embarrassment on his face. He really wished he hadn't started drinking, but now he'd have to suffer through the effects until it was all out of his system.

Cartman frowned deeply when Kyle began to try and shoo him out. He didn't exactly trust Kyle to be in here by himself. "Just get in the god damn shower." He said, and when Kyle continued to give him shit for it he let out a dark growl of irritation. He didn't have time for this, and he wasn't about to deal with Kyle being unreasonable. He needed to wash up, drink some god damn water and lay down already, he couldn't leave because he knew that if he did then Kyle might pass out in the shower, which was the absolute last thing he wanted.

Normally, Cartman would never want to be in the same room as Kyle, or anyone when they were underdressed. He avoided it like the plague. In fact, he had made it a house rule that they couldn't be in the same room as each other whenever they got dressed or had to shower, but this was an exception. Kyle could honestly hurt himself or fuck up, and he was honestly still surprised that he hadn't. Cartman fixed him with a serious look, his eyes staring straight into Kyle's brightly hazed one. He'd get one warning.

"You have five seconds to take off your shit and get into that shower before I do it for you Kyle."

He was not fucking around.

Kyle felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He could hardly remember how he knew this, but he knew that when Cartmen used that tone he was dead serious. He had heard him use it on a few occasions but never towards him, and he didn't want to find out what would happen if he didn't listen to him. Frowning at him, Kyle turned around so he didn't have to face him while he stripped out of his clothes, but first he turned on the shower. Before Cartmen could get angry with him for not taking of his clothes first he stripped out of his shirt.

"I'm taking my clothes off, calm down…" Kyle said when Cartmen took a step towards him. He then focused on the removal of his clothing with a frown as it took longer than usual to get everything off. Once he was out of his clothes he tried hard to pretend that he wasn't naked in front of his roommate and stepped into the shower.

Cartman wasn't directly looking at Kyle, he made sure he was looking off to the side, but kept him within his peripheral vision. He couldn't see him well from that angle, it made him appear blurry. It was all he needed to make sure that he was actually removing his clothes and going into the shower. There had been a moment when he thought that the other wasn't going to do what he asked him, and he'd taken an awkward step forward. He really hadn't wanted to lay his hand on him while he was nude, so he was relieved when he told him that he was still going. He waited until he was in the shower and closed the curtain before he finally looked over, glad that all he could see was the shadow of him inside. Only now did a small blush come across his face.

Dear God he'd almost seen Kyle naked. At first, when he threatened to undress Kyle if he didn't himself, he hadn't thought about just how weird it actually was, but now it hit him in full. He was glad that he hadn't looked at him full on, otherwise it would be hard to get out of his head. Even now he thought about the rather abstracted image he'd gotten to see with a reddening face. God, what had gotten into him recently..?

"Warn me before you come out too, will you. I don't want to see anything." He grumbled, closing the lid to the toilet and taking a seat on it.

"Yeah, yeah…" Kyle slurred out as he stood under the spray of the shower. As soon as the water hit his chest he knew that taking a shower really had been the right decision after all, even if Cartmen had been the one to tell him to do it. He tried his best to actually shower while he stood under the water but his mind kept wandering too much for him to focus on much of anything. That and he was too conscience of the fact that Cartmen was sitting just outside the shower waiting for him to get out.

He had almost drifted off to sleep standing up, but when he started to sway his eyes snapped open and he caught himself before he fell, or at least he thought he had caught himself but he ended up sitting awkwardly in the tub as the water sprayed on his head. "Shit.." he grumbled.

Cartman had just been starting to think that maybe it had been pointless for him to come in and help him, wondering if he should have just let the male take his shower in some peace since he seemed to be managing just fine when he finally heard something. It sounded like he slipped and thudded awkwardly in the tub. He'd been looking at the wall thoughtfully when he heard it, and he quickly snapped his head to see that Kyle was now sitting rather than standing. He frowned. Well, so much for that.

"Jesus Christ, can't you do anything right?" He asked, sounding irritated though it was more to cover up his own embarrassment as he now had to storm over and pull open the curtains, trying to make sure he was alright. Cartman looked directly at his face, his eyes intense and stern. He refused to let them go anywhere else as he stared into his eyes and only his eyes. His mouth was a tight awkward line as he could feel his heart pounding in his ears, louder than the shower's hiss.

"Come on, you're done it here. You look plenty clean enough." He was struggling to keep his voice sounding normal. His eyes hardened, but only because he was having to focus more to keep his eyes only on Kyle's face and not let them wander. It was hard to focus on his voice and eyes. "Do you need me to help you get up?"

Kyle could feel his own face heat up out of embarrassment as he shook his head. "No…I got it." Kyle said slowly before he tried to get himself to his feet. He slipped slightly and he had just been about to catch himself when he felt Cartmen grab him and help him to his feet. His face blossomed a nice red color as he was helped out of the shower and given a towel which he hastily wrapped around himself. Oh this was just lovely, he was never going to hear the end of this later. It was horribly pathetic having to have Cartmen help him like this, like he couldn't take care of himself.

"Th-thanks…" he said as he grabbed his clothes. "You can go…I got this part." He said since he could sit down and dress himself and eliminate the threat of falling flat on his face or ass. Besides, he would die of shame if Cartmen had to help dress him of all things.

Cartman's face was turned away from Kyle, attempting to hide the nice shade of red that had run out across his face and cheeks. Cartman could hardly think anything at all, his heart still racing in his throat. The last thing he'd wanted to do was to touch Kyle while he was naked, and now he couldn't get it out of his head. He swallowed nervously. There was something wrong, very, very wrong with himself. Before he took another look at Kyle, he needed to straighten it out.

"Good." He croaked, his voice finally failing him. Before the other could get a good look at his crimson face, he turned quickly and left the bathroom, heading straight for their room- though he left the door open so he could hear Kyle if something went wrong again. He knew he'd have a bit of time before Kyle made it back, so he decided to wander over to his bed and sit down heavily, his breath coming out in slightly panicked gasps.

What…the…FUCK was wrong with him?! Why the hell was he getting like this?! First it was Kyle's eyes, then it was the way he smiled, then it was talking to him, and now…?! Why was this happening to him, it was unacceptable. His heart was beating fiercely through him as he thought back to it, his mind unable to leave it alone. He had been able to maintain not directly looking at him with the corner of his eye, it had been blurry so it wasn't much for his mind to play with… but when he had to go into the shower, it had been really hard. He swore that all his mind wanted to do was to look over the other's boy's body, and it had taken his everything not to. Then, OF COURSE he had to slip. Cartman hadn't even been thinking, he'd reached out and grabbed him before he could fall again… and that's when he lost it.

Not only did he end up running his eyes down and staring at the other's pale and thin body, but he'd actually reached out and TOUCHED him. More than that, he'd grabbed him. A shiver ran down his back as he reimagined it, unable to help it. His skin had been slightly warm from the water, but it still felt cool to his hands. He'd felt really soft, and the water had made him feel slick, he'd had to really grab onto him just so he wouldn't slip out of his hands and end up falling anyways. Cartman swallowed hard, his hands twitching on his sheets as another bodily shiver ran through his body. He tried his best to pretend that seeing and feeling Kyle didn't excite his nerves and instead wondered if he was alright, since it was taking a while for him to finish changing.

It took Kyle too long to change back into his clothes so he just decided on the pants and left the bathroom without a shirt on. He didn't really care that he was walking around half naked. Both him and Cartmen were guys right? He was sure he'd get over it and right now all Kyle wanted to do was pass out on his bed and sleep until he didn't feel so dizzy and sick. He found Cartmen in the room, looking like he was going to hyperventilate or have a full blown out panic attack. "You okay?" he asked even though he doubted he would be able to pay much attention to his answer. He plopped down on his own bed and looked across the room.

Cartman had gone back to trying to force control over his emotions and his thoughts when he heard Kyle stumble back in, at first, he didn't look at him right away, but when he asked him if he was alright he looked up and felt his face drop. Cartman's entire face drew a blank as he stared at Kyle. It was almost like his brain shut off for a second as his mind gave an auto pilot answer. "Yeah."

Kyle wasn't sure that he believed him but right now his capacity to care wasn't all that great. Instead of questioning him, he nodded before laying down on his bed and staring at the ceiling. His head was spinning from the alcohol in his system and he knew it would only get worse after he closed his eyes. "…Sorry about tonight…." Kyle mumbled as he put an arm over his eyes, trying to block out the light in the room.

Cartman's brain took it's time coming back. When Kyle laid down on his bed, he found his eyes sliding from his face that he soon covered to the rest of him, his dark brown eyes running down the length of his chest and drinking in the sight. It wasn't until he shivered again that his mind finally decided to turn back on, making his face flush deeper as he realized exactly where his thoughts had been headed, as well as his eyes for that matter. Cartman tore his eyes reluctantly away from Kyle and laid down on his own bed, turning away to try and hide the fact that he was a little excited by the other. He gave out a low grunt.

"Don't mention it." God he just hoped the other went to sleep soon.

**Hope this chapter was interesting for you all 3 I know the story has been a bit... uneventful til now. Thanks for sticking around folks!**


	5. Chapter 5

Kyle groaned out as sunlight hit his closed eyes and woke him up. His head was killing him and the light was only making his skull splitting headache even worse than it was. He sat up slowly and found that he was sore as well. For a moment he had no clue as to why he was feeling this way and then all the memories from the prior night flooded back to him making him groan out. He had made a complete and total ass of himself last night…and he could hardly believe that Cartmen had to help him out of the shower. He wasn't sure if that was worse than the whole making out with a random guy last night or not, but they were both pretty embarrassing.

He looked across the room, expecting to see Cartmens empty bed but instead he saw his friend sitting there almost trance like at the ground. "Shit Cartmen…what time is it?" he asked, trying to snap him out of whatever state he was in. His own digital clock had broken last week and he couldn't see Cartmens from his bed. He would have just gotten up to look himself but he had a feeling he'd puke if he stood up too fast at the moment.

Cartman had been up for about the last hour, contemplating all of what happened last night. He could still hardly believe how he'd reacted last night, and as if to add insult to injury all last night he'd woken up to several… less than appropriate dreams. He'd tried to take a cold shower, he tried to calm himself down and do his class work, he played on his phone and rolled through face book pages, but he still had a very disturbed sleep, and he wasn't sure how to face it… or even if he _wanted_ to face it.

He looked up when Kyle spoke to him, looking confused for a moment before he slid his eyes over to the clock. He hadn't even realized that he'd woken up. "It's almost one." He said, his voice sounding really tired.

"…Look I'm really sorry about last night." Kyle said, feeling like he should apologize for his horrible drunken behavior. He swore right then that he wasn't going to go to another party, and if he was forced to then he wasn't going to drink. He couldn't afford to end up making out with random people and then coming back and having to rely on his roommate so he didn't kill himself in his stupor. Thinking about that made him go pale when he remembered the guy he had kissed…and half fondled and he grew even paler when he remembered having the urge to kiss Cartmen last night.

He shook his head and then held it when the sudden movement made his head throb. Kyle didn't want to think about the possibility of him being gay right now, not while he was hung over and not when Cartmen was sitting right across from him. Instead he decided to focus on his roommate and how he looked right now. "…are you alright? You look really tired." He commented, his voice a bit raspy do to the fact that his mouth was dry.

"I'm fine." Came Cartman's simple reply, his voice holding a little more of himself in it, though it still seemed to lack his usual spirit. He'd used whatever energy he could muster last night into trying to get his mind off of things and to try and get back to normal, but it had been hard with the other sleeping across from him. Every time he'd try to throw himself into denial he'd zone out and end up looking at Kyle. Eventually, he'd had to go into the living and try something else with little to no avail. He looked up at Kyle to see the look he was giving him and tried to harden his look into the usual glare he had for him.

"I'd be better if I wasn't up all night worrying over your drunken ass. What were you thinking?"

Chastising him and admitting that he had worried for him was way easier than the latter, so he was going to shoot for that side right now.

Kyle instantly looked ashamed of himself. He already knew that he had been a drunken ass last night, but it sunk in more when he was told that to his face by someone else. "I really wasn't thinking…I let myself get goaded into playing some drinking game and then...yeah my evening was shit from that point onward." He said, deciding that he wanted to leave the part with the guy out of his story. "I didn't mean to drag you into it…honestly you should have just let me sleep in the bathroom." He said with a small sigh. He felt bad for putting Cartmen though what he had due to his own stupidity. "But thanks for helping me…I am appreciative of it." He said as he hid his face.

Cartman let out a snort when Kyle mentioned the bathroom floor incident. "Oh yeah," He said sarcastically. "Like it was going to be a smart idea to leave you on the floor, gross and sick. I wasn't about to let that happen." He was thankful that Kyle wasn't questioning why Cartman had chosen now to care about his wellbeing, since he didn't really have a valid answer for it. When Kyle held his head, he turned his face away and let out another huff.

"…Just don't go doing that again." It was all he could think of to say, and after he said it, the silence grew uncomfortably thick. Cartman was still tired from his rather sleepless night last night, but he really didn't have any interest in sleeping lest something plague him again. He'd rather go through this day off being tired and trying to forget it.

"You want me to make you anything?" He asked suddenly, looking over at Kyle. "Or get you anything? I'm going to go get some McDonalds or some shit… I don't feel like making anything at the moment."

"I could just go with you…" Kyle suggested even though he didn't want to go anywhere right now. Still he'd prefer suffering the sunlight outside to having Cartmen take care of him again. It wasn't like he hated Cartmen being nice, it was just weird. Still, he was smart enough not to mention it and cause the others mood to drop and make the rest of their break hell. Kyle decided he'd just enjoy Cartmen's nice side for a little bit longer before he realized what he was doing.

Cartman's look hardened once again when Kyle offered to just come with him. "Don't even think about it." He said in something close to a snarl. It wasn't exactly like he was just doing this because he wanted Kyle to feel better and get over being hung over, because personally he felt that he should suffer for doing all he did last night and making Cartman suffer from seeing him last night, it was all his fault. It was more because he wanted to take a moment to make sure he had full check on himself before he came back into the apartment with him.

"I'll just pick you up something okay? Just stay here- and stay put." He added the last bit a bit more firmly, before he got up, grabbed his wallet, and left the apartment.

Well that was the end of Cartmens kindness he guessed. With a sigh he got up from his bed and decided to take a proper shower while the other was out walking to the fast food place. He figured he would have just enough time to do it if not time to spare afterwards.

"I think I'm gay Stan." Kyle admitted as he talked to his friend on the phone, it felt good to get it out in the open like that but it also made him nervous when his friend went silent on the other end. He was suddenly unsure and doubted whether or not he should have told him, but he heaved a sigh of relief when Stan finally answered him without sounded upset.

"_What makes you say that? Not that it's a bad thing, just curious." _

Stan's voice sounded genuinely curious on the other end and it helped Kyle to admit to him everything that had happened to him. He was able to finish his whole story without getting interrupted once.

"I don't know Stan, what do you think?"

_"Well that's really something for you to decide Kyle, but you honestly could be."_

"That's not really helping….ahh It's just very confusing and I can't even tell you the worst part." Kyle groaned out as he remembered how he had wanted to kiss Cartmen. He honestly wished that he could just tell Stan so he didn't feel like he was hiding some dirty secret, but he wasn't sure how his friend would take that, especially due to the Cartmen factor.

_"Why not? Did you make out with someone else?"_

"No, but I wanted to…"

_"Well at least you didn't right? I honestly think you're over thinking this. So what if you like guys? Just don't let it get to you so much." _

Kyle could tell that Stan was trying to be reassuring so he let himself believe that he could get over this. At least he had someone to talk to if he needed it, even if he couldn't confide everything in him.

Kenny was far away from Stan and Kyle, but he still was able to get onto Facebook every so often and talk to them. Where he was had free internet for the dorms, so at night he'd go on , and if one or the other were on, he'd talk. Stan had come on and they had talked privately for some time. At first, it was about how the other missed Wendy and was doing in his classes, particularly how he was sucking in his math classes, when it suddenly changed into a conversation about Kyle, and what the other had to say interested him quite a bit.

Stanley Marsh: Yeah, He called me yesterday and told me he thought he might be gay. I wasn't exactly sure what to say, but I told him that it didn't matter and he shouldn't let it bother him.

Kenny pursed his lips a little.

Kenny: Oh really? Funny. He didn't call me ;(

Stanely Marsh: Oh don't be that way about it Kenny. I'm sure he'll call you or something.

Kenny: That was a joke, you know I don't have a phone haha.

Stanely Marsh: Well, I'm sure he'll come on. He tells you just about as much as he tells me. You said he talks to you on occasion on here.

Kenny: That's true, but half of the time he's too busy.

Stanely Marsh: Well, keep an eye for him. You've always been better at relating to people.

Kenny smiled at his computer screen, but decided to leave it at that. He hoped that Kyle would come on sometime soon, since it was break, so he could talk to him.

Kyle sighed as he looked his new clock that he had just bought yesterday. It was late but he wasn't tired at all. He didn't even have any assignments to do so he couldn't distract himself with that. It was then that noticed he had left his computer on since this morning. He could always go online and see if anyone was on. He had purposely installed a new instant messaging system before he left home so he would be able to talk to everyone. He hadn't had the time recently, but he did now and maybe he'd get lucky and get to chat with someone. If not there was always facebook.

_Kyle B. has signed on:_

Kyle's mood brightened instantly when he noticed that Kenny was online. A smile formed on his face.

Kyle B.: Hey, long time no see Kenny, how are things going?

Kenny: Oh Kyle! It's been ages man! I thought you said that you were going to keep in contact with me? L

Kyle B.: I know, I know, I'm sorry. L I've just been really busy with school and stupid shit.

Kenny looked at the words 'stupid shit' thoughtfully, wondering if he was referring to what Stan had said. He took a moment to think before he decided to type a response.

Kenny: Its alright, I'm just pulling your leg ;) You've always been fun to yank around a bit lol. I'm not mad, I totally understand that law school is tough.

Kenny: What kind of stupid shit?

Kyle sighed as he debated on how he should answer Kenny. It wasn't like he was afraid to tell him that he thought he was gay. He trusted Kenny, he just wasn't sure how he should bring it up. He decided to just be straight forward about it.

Kyle B.: I'm just coming to terms with my sexuality I guess? :/ I'm not too sure what to think about things right now but I'm pretty sure that I'm gay.

Kenny made sure that he took his time before responding, thinking about how to respond. If Kyle was having a hard time with his sexuality, then he wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not to tell him that Stan had already told him, he decided to be honest about it.

Kenny: I heard from Stan. :/ He didn't tell me everything, but he said you realized it at some party.

Kenny: Well, I, for one, am happy for you Kyle. J It takes a lot to be able to come out, and I'm proud of you 3 I've guessed it for a while now. You were just never into girls like me and Stan were.

Kyle made an odd face when Kenny said he had guessed about all of this. Even though Kenny had some good points he wasn't sure how to take it all. He decided that he didn't mean anything offensive by it.

Kyle B.: I guess…there's just a few things that I can't come to terms with I guess.

Kyle B.: Can I tell you something? I couldn't tell Stan because I know how he'll react to it and I really need to tell someone before it kills me. I trust you, just promise you won't laugh or freak out.

Kenny was surprised when Kyle told him that there had been something he couldn't tell Stan. Everyone knew that Stan was his best friend, and he couldn't think of anything that he hadn't told the man, but he guessed if it had to with a sensitive subject then he'd be a little… odd. He guessed that he could understand his friend's uncertainty. Kenny smiled, personally touched.

Kenny: Go ahead Kyle. You know me, I'm no person to judge.

Kyle took a deep breath as he prepared himself to tell Kenny. It was going to be fine, he wasn't going to be judged. It was all going to be okay, and maybe Kenny would have something useful to tell him to help him with it.

Kyle B.: At the party, the only reason that I was attracted to the guy there at all was because he reminded me of someone, and it took me until I got back to the apartment before I realized and remembered who he reminded me of.

Kyle B.: And I realized it when I suddenly wanted to make out with Cartmen. The guy had reminded me of him…and ever since that night I don't know what to think…

Kenny must have reread the two messages over and over again, trying to think of how he should respond to him. It was weird, very weird and strange… but not exactly for the reasons that most would think. He just thought that it was strange that he was hearing this from Kyle. It was a long pause before he finally sent another message.

Kenny: Well I can certainly see why you wouldn't want to tell Stan. Lol. He'd freak.

Kenny: What exactly are you struggling over with it, is it because you can't believe you have a type like Cartman?

Kyle was overjoyed when Kenny reacted well to what he had told him. He had started to get nervous when it had taken him a long while to respond but things had turned out well anyway.

Kyle B.: I guess you could say it's that, but I more think it's strange because it _is _Cartmen. He's bullied me since we were little and I can't believe that I would think anything like that about him.

Kyle B.: And the more I think about things, the more I find that I like about him instead of what I hate. I just feel confused. At first I thought it was just because of the alcohol but I know I'm only lying to myself.

Kenny: I certainly can't lie to you there, it is really weird. I think it's weird that you've started liking him, but then again, things could have changed since you two have started having to room together. Funny things like that happen. I just wasn't expecting it to be **you** who told me lol. I swore the first to tell they were out of the closet would be Cartman.

Kenny: Then again, I suppose Cartman is really good at lying. He probably doesn't even realize he's IN the closet.

Kyle B.: You really thought that Cartmen would be the first to come out to you? I mean I always assumed that he was gay but I always assumed he'd rather die than admit it.

Kenny: lol. I suppose that really is true.

Kenny: Still though, I'm surprised he didn't take advantage of you when you were drunk. You know he's always had a thing for you, right?

Kyle snorted slightly at Kenny's reply. The only thing Cartmen had for him was an undying urge to make fun of him. Usually Kenny was really good at reading people and that was why he trusted him, but he just couldn't believe him about this.

Kyle B.: That's absurd. The only thing he has for me is the urge to make my life miserable.

Something didn't seem right with what he had written though. Normally Cartmen made his life hell, but recently things had been different. Pleasant almost. Hanging out with Cartmen wasn't torture like it used to be and in fact he had grown very fond of the time they spent together. So saying that he lived to make his life miserable didn't fit anymore. Especially since he had actually been kind to him.

Kyle B.: I just don't see it Kenny. I guess he's been nicer to me recently but I highly doubt that he has a thing for me.

If Cartmen had a thing for him then Kenny was right, it was strange that he didn't take advantage of him while he was so defenseless. Something like that was right up Cartmens alley usually and he had been nothing but civil and nice when he had come home drunk. Wait…he had acted very differently after that whole incident with the shower…and he had looked like he had been having some sort of crisis. No, just no it wasn't possible at all.

Kyle B.: Damn it Kenny, why do you have to make sense all the time.

Kenny: Because if I didn't then I wouldn't be doing my job. ;)

Kenny: But seriously, Cartman's childish Kyle. He's had a thing for you since back in elementary school, I think he was just too stupid to realize it. I love to pull your leg around a bit because it's fun, but I swear it went past that to prove a point.

Kenny: I think he just does things to try and prove a point, you know? He hates gay people, right? He tells them off all the time. So if he liked a guy, he'd make it a point to hate that person so no one would think it.

There was a pause.

Kenny: Except maybe that Cartman's just about as see through as glass.

Kyle made a face as he tried to process all that he had just been told. It was hard at first, but the more he thought about it, the more the pieces seemed to fit together. It was like he had finally hit a realization that he was way behind on.

Kyle B.: So what do I do Kenny? Should I just ignore all of this and hope it just goes away? It's not like I could do anything with it really.

Kyle B.: I'm not saying I'd want to do anything about it, but even if I did, Cartmen is fucking stubborn. I swear he could walk up, make out with someone and then deny it the next minute and blame it on them.

There was a long pause as Kenny tried to think on the other end. It was hard to think of something that Kyle could do about the situation. Not many people were fond of Cartman, and he himself would never want to date the man. It didn't matter what the options were, if he were gay he'd rather die alone than date that jerk.

Kenny: You don't have to make a decision now Kyle, but it's up to you in the end :/ Cartman's a giant ass hole, we all know it. I'm still surprised that you like him at all. But you could always give it a try.

Kenny: Honestly, it's up to you. Take it or leave it. There really isn't a risk either way, right? If you try and it ends horrible, all you really have to deal with is the fact that you liked him, which you're already dealing with. You guys weren't really friends to begin with. And if you just leave it alone, then things will stay the same. You guys won't get any closer anyways.

Kenny: There really isn't any downside to either one man. It's up to you.

Kyle frowned at his computer screen but panicked when he heard the front door to their apartment open. This so wasn't good or the most convenient time for Cartmen to decide to come back from whatever he had been doing.

Kyle B.: I'll just have to see what happens I guess, but I have to go Kenny, he just came back and as much as he pretends to hide it, he's nosey as fuck. If he reads this over my shoulder I'm dead.

Kyle B.: I'll be on tomorrow about this time if you want to chat okay. Talk to you later, and thank you for the advice J

Kyle finished typing before he closed out of the program just in time. The bedroom door opened behind him and he instantly pretended to be checking his facebook. "Hey."

**Stay tuned, the next chapter gets a little intense... ;3**


End file.
